When can Jeremy Pruitt return to college football after show-cause penalty from NCAA?

It'll be a long time before Jeremy Pruitt returns to college football in a coaching capacity.

The former Tennessee football coach was handed a six-year show-cause penalty for his role in the recruiting scandal that got him and nine of his staffers fired for cause on Jan. 18, 2021.

A show-cause penalty means a university cannot hire a coach or recruiter without being subject to penalties during the length of the ban unless the NCAA signs off. If Pruitt seeks employment or affiliation with any athletically related position at an NCAA member institution in the next six years, the employing institution is required to contact the Committee on Infractions "to show cause why restrictions on all athletically related activity should not apply."

Pruitt's was one of seven show-cause penalties the NCAA issued at the conclusion of its investigation.

But Pruitt's show-cause had an extra caveat – there's a 100% suspension during the first year of his employment if employed by an NCAA school in athletics during the show-cause. Pruitt's show-cause began on July 14, 2023, and will end July 13, 2029.

The recruiting malfeasance during the 49-year-old's tenure resulted in the NCAA handing down its verdict Friday in the scandal that featured more than 200 rule violations by at least a dozen staff members that went unreported in a two-year period.

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Pruitt took the brunt of the punishment and attention for Tennessee's 18 Level I violations as the coach of a program that orchestrated rampant and blatant rules violations. In the NCAA findings, he was accused of not meeting his responsibility to promote an atmosphere of compliance due to his involvement in violations. He also failed to monitor his staff.

Tennessee avoided a bowl ban, but the NCAA put the program on probation for five years. As part of the NCAA probation, UT must pay fines of $8 million, 50% of gross revenue paid to SEC for UT's participation in the 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl under Pruitt and $5,000 plus 3% of football budget. Tennessee also must vacate all wins and individual records in any game in which 16 individual sanctioned players participated, which will be announced later.

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On the recruiting side, UT must do the following over the next five years: cut 28 scholarships from its roster, cease communication with recruits for 28 weeks, end unofficial visits for 40 weeks, cut 36 official visits and cut 120 evaluation days.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: When Jeremy Pruitt can return to college football after show-cause penalty